Chavez devotees celebrate his birthday by applying legacy to now
out,” said former Santa Clara County Supervisor Blanca Alvarado.
The civil rights icon would’ve turned 90 on Friday. His birthday is officially recognized nationwide on March 31.
Alvarado, now 85, organized alongside Chavez during the height of the farmworker movement, visiting local supermarkets during the infamous Delano grape strike to call on customers to boycott grapes.
“He would have called on labor unions (to organize), he would’ve called on the church community, he would’ve called on grass-roots communities. He would’ve counted on all of us,” she added.
The Rev. Jon Pedigo, director for projects for peace and justice for the Diocese of San Jose, said Chavez would’ve been troubled by the many issues affecting immigrant communities, in particular, the separation of families as a result of deportation.
“Without a doubt, Cesar would’ve addressed that issue,” he said. “He was a deeply spiritual man. But he wouldn’t see it as a separate issue from the attack against Muslims, the denigration of LGBTQIA folks. … All these things go together.”
Miriam Pawel, author of the 2014 Chavez biography “The Crusades of Cesar Chavez,” said there are many lessons to take away from his unique legacy.
“Fundamentally, his greatest accomplishment was empowering people who thought they had no power,” she said.